CELEBRATING ROCKY: Champ's death was 'an awful shock in Brockton'

Jim Fenton

Monday

Aug 31, 2009 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2009 at 2:11 AM

The night of Aug. 31, 1969, will forever be remembered as one of the most tragic times in the city’s history when the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world died on the eve of his 46th birthday. (Second in a week-long series.)

Peter Marciano had just finished a bartending shift at the Holiday Inn when the late-night phone call came 40 years ago tonight.

(Second in a week-long series.)

His long-time friend, Hank Tartaglia, was on the other end with some sad and shocking news to deliver.

Tartaglia had learned from a Brockton police officer that a few hours earlier, a private plane carrying Rocky Marciano had crashed in a field in Iowa and that all three passengers had been killed.

The night of Aug. 31, 1969, will forever be remembered as one of the most tragic times in the city’s history when the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world died on the eve of his 46th birthday.

“It was tough, real tough,’’ recalled Peter Marciano, the fighter’s younger brother. “I had to go over to see my mother (Pasqualina) and father (Pierino), and to this day, it is one of the toughest things I had to endure in my life.

“I told mom and dad what happened. The first thing out of my mother’s mouth, in Italian, was, ‘My son, the heart of my life.’ I will never forget that. My dad, who was a quiet guy, he just sat there and the tears flowed. It was, to say the least, a very, very difficult time.’’

The death four decades ago tonight of Marciano, who retired from boxing with a 49-0 record 13 years earlier, sent shockwaves through his hometown of Brockton and across the world.

Marciano was making a 300-mile trip to Des Moines, Iowa, from Chicago, where he had been at a dinner at the home of Andy Granatelli, the head of STP. Marciano was on a Cessna 172 with Frankie Farrell and pilot Glenn Belz, who had only 231 hours of flying time.

The plane encountered rough weather and crashed in a field near Newton, Iowa. According to a report in The Enterprise, the single-engine plane lost power and the engine was sputtering as it hit a tree, shearing off a wing. The plane hit the ground, bounced and hit an oak tree about 9 p.m.

Marciano was on his way to give a speech for a friend in Iowa and was hoping to fly home to Florida the next day to celebrate his 46th birthday with wife, Barbara, and 16-year-old daughter, Mary Anne.

His body was brought back to Brockton where a massive wake was held at Hickey Funeral Home before he was buried near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., later in the week.

“It was like 1 or 2 in the morning when we got over to the house, and I remember my mother screaming,’’ said Marciano’s sister, Betty Colombo. “You just can’t believe it. He died so young.

“People from everywhere came to the house, from Florida, New Jersey. There were just masses of people at the houses giving condolences.’’

Said Armond Colombo, Marciano’s brother-in-law: “You were hoping it wasn’t true. It was just disbelief. He’s going out in a two-seater to see someone who loved him and wanted him to be there. He was just doing someone a favor.’’

Marciano’s nephew, Peter Marciano Jr., a former Brockton High standout, played football at the University of Iowa from 1986-89. During his stay at college, Marciano traveled 90 minutes to the crash site.

“It was a huge cornfield about three miles from the airport,’’ he said. “The crazy thing is there’s only like one big oak tree there. It’s almost like if he gets by that oak tree, there’s corn stalks, it almost felt like that would have acted as a cushion and braced the crash if it didn’t hit the tree.

“A lady said to me, ‘You know, for many years we had a lot of pieces of the plane and a lot of people from the Chicago area would drive out and come by and a lot of people we gave a piece of the plane.’ She gave me a blanket they wrapped Rocky up in that night. She had it for 20-something years.

“It was a real eerie feeling. You kind of got the layout of the land. It was a huge gulley way, wide open. You could see how the plane could have come down there.’’

Nick Sylvester, a childhood friend of Marciano’s who attended all 49 of his fights, said the news hit him so hard he was unable to work.

“I broke down,’’ he said. “I was working on the job as a lineman (at Brockton Edison). I’m crying on the pole and that’s dangerous. My boss is telling me, ‘Nicky, get down. Stay in the truck.’ It was just awful.’’

Said Charlie Tartaglia, owner of George’s Café: “It hit the city like a ton of bricks, to lose a champion like that. He was the greatest, as far as I’m concerned.’’

Goody Petronelli, who later helped guide Marvelous Marvin Hagler to the world middleweight crown, was driving home to Brockton from California where he had been stationed in the Navy.

“I was in the state of Iowa, listening to the car radio,’’ he said. “I heard the news that Rocky Marciano and a pilot on a private plane both got killed in a crash.

“Boy, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I got to the nearest coffee shop and had a cup of coffee and I simmered down a little bit. It just shook the heck out of me.

“It was terrible. The city, everybody here, not only in Brockton, but everywhere, it was a sad affair because this was our hero. It was an awful shock in Brockton. The people that knew him, everybody, they took it real bad. He was Mr. Brockton.’’

The wake in Brockton drew thousands of mourners and there was a Mass at St. Colman’s Church before Marciano’s body was taken to Florida, where he had moved.

“There was such a huge crowd in Brockton,’’ said Marciano’s brother Peter. “There were so many people in line, a lot never got to see him.

“The tributes that came in were just incredible. People wrote letters. They sent telegrams from all over. Everyone would say how Rocky had affected their life and their family. He really had a lot of people look up to him and picked up a lot of strength from him.’’

Said Hank Tartaglia, who served as a pallbearer: “It was unbelievable. All the fighters were there. The people came from all over the world for this. To be honest, I think the whole city was in total shock. He was only 46 years old, just starting to enjoy what he had done.’’

Peter Marciano recalls Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis mourning his brother at the wake in Florida.

“I remember a journalist came up to them at the wake and started asking questions about Rocky,’’ said Marciano. “Ali said, ‘We’ll do this any time, we’ll talk about Rocky whenever you want, but not now. We’re here to honor not only a great, great fighter but a great man.’ I will never forget that. I have so much respect for Muhammad Ali. That was just awesome.’’

The Enterprise reported that Rocky Marciano, his wife and daughter had only recently returned from a trip to Europe and that he was closing a deal on a chain of Italian restaurants from coast to coast.

Four decades have now passed since that fateful night when the beloved former heavyweight champion of the world had his life cut tragically short.

“It sure doesn’t seem like 40 years,’’ said Marciano’s brother, Peter. “I just remember so many happy things. It’s almost scary to think about it being 40 years.

“There are times when I think about it. Rocky was 45. I often tried to project how Rocky would look, what type of person he would be at say 75. I looked at him as an older brother. He was the nicest, strongest person who ever lived. I could just never picture him being 70ish. I could just remember what he was like.

“It was tough. Rocky never knew fear when he went into the ring. It was not a good night to be traveling the night he did. He never really knew fear.’’

Next: Marciano discovers boxing in the Army.

READ MORE stories in the series and past coverage of Marciano.

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